British time trial round-up

Leicestershire rider Matt Bottrill stamped his authority on this season’s Rudy Project National Time Trial Series when he secured a fourth win in a row in the Doncaster Wheelers’ event at Beckingham, Lincolnshire, on Saturday.

The I Ride.co.uk ace clocked exactly 55 minutes for the two-lap 26.55-mile course, winning comfortably by more than two minutes from second-placed Philip Graves, the Team Specialized triathlete from York.

Multiple national champion Julia Shaw (Drag2Zero.com) won the women’s one-lap event with a time of 29-40, while top junior was Sam Connolley (Glendene CC), with expected challenger Alex Royle a non-starter.

Elsewhere, Alex Dowsett (Sky) faced Michael Hutchinson (In-Gear Quickvit Trainsharp RT) in a showdown at Farnham RC’s 10-mile on Saturday in Lower Froyle, Hampshire. Dowsett came home with a blistering 18-36 beating Hutchinson into second place with his 19-03. Joanna Rowsell (Horizon Fitness-Prendas) won the women’s event with 21-51.

There were some fast times clocked in the Wigan Wheelers’ 10 and 30-mile events at Garstang in Lancashire. Mark Holton (Drag2Zero.com) was the only man under the 20-minute mark in the 10-mile event, clocking 19-57 to push Shetland Wheelers’ much-travelled veteran Carlos Riise into second spot by 52 seconds.

And Riise had to settle for second the following day in the 30-mile event, clocking 1-08-48 which was 2-32 behind winner Derek Parkinson (Cleveleys RC).

In Cambridgeshire, evergreen Ian Cammish (Planet X) won the VTTA East Anglia 25-mile event at Newmarket, clocking 50-07 to push Peter Balls (West Suffolk Wheelers) into second by 24 seconds.

And his Planet X team-mate Sam Barker clocked 42-04 to win the Kettering CC 18.4-mile event in Northamptonshire by just one second from Team Pedal Power’s Adam Gascoigne.

Rob Pears (Bath CC) was victorious in Cheltenham and County CC’s 23-mile event in Temple Guiting, his time of 57-00 being five seconds ahead of Ben Anstie (Adeo Cadence), while third spot went to his Bath team-mate Alec Baskaya, 51 seconds off the pace.